Stores Work To Prevent Shoplifting

The holiday shopping season can bring a spike in shoplifting calls at Sioux Falls stores. Over the weekend, there were 13 shoplifting reports from area stores.

So as the holiday season gears up, Lewis Drug stores are using technology to protect its business.

As the Lewis Drug Stores deck the aisles with Christmas décor and all kinds of gifts to fulfill every shopper’s wish list, you'll likely never to see Herb Rosin. He sits behind the scenes, possibly watching you.

"Almost half our cameras rotate and move around so we're able to cross over into different sections and monitor people as they move from place to place," Lewis' senior loss prevention manager Herb Rosin said.

Lewis Drug uses a 36-camera security system to help prevent shoplifting. It's some of the newest technology on the market. The cameras can zoom in on specific products and then be moved with a joy-stick to follow someone who has been spotted shoplifting items.

In addition to using the security system to protect the store from shoplifting, it’s also used to protect shoppers and their personal belongings.

"We'll also watch for people taking purses out of carts or taking things out of purses," Rosin said.

Sioux Falls police officer Sam Clemens says many times, shoplifters are taking items from the store and other customers because they believe no one is watching.

"It's a crime of opportunity that somebody walks by, sees a purse that is unattended, they reach in and grab some cash or they grab the wallet and they keep going. They don't even have to grab the whole purse," Clemens said.

Rosin says it's store policy to prosecute all shoplifters and he advises everyone to remember one thing.

"Beware that there are eyes in the sky all the time," Rosin said.

Lewis Drug also has a special security system focused on check-out lanes so anyone using a stolen credit card or committing check fraud can be identified later for police.

For the few areas in the store where cameras don't reach, Lewis has employees in street clothes monitoring those aisles and products.